Minnesota child support issues: professional advice may help

On behalf of Terzich & Ort, LLP posted in Child Support on Friday, October 17, 2014.

Minnesota couples would agree family law matters can be very sensitive. Whether it is a divorce or issues related to alimony or child support, a person will likely need an experienced attorney who has successfully handled cases related to divorce, child support or child custody.

An attorney needs to work closely with parents to review child support guidelines. The attorney needs to be astute enough to verify that relevant income such as earnings from commission or businesses are included in the calculation. In Minnesota, the non-custodial parent needs to pay three things to the custodial parent. These are medical support, basic support and child care support.

Basic support is calculated on the basis of parents' gross income. The attorney needs to ensure that basic support is calculated correctly. The lawyers also need to ensure that both medical and child care support have been calculated as per child support guidelines.

The child support calculator requires a lot of information like the parent's gross income per month, the number of children living in each parent's home, if any parent has to support any other child, if either parent has to pay alimony, the monthly dental cost, the amount of child care expenses, the percentage of parenting time, etc. Naturally, a parent may find it difficult to handle these calculations on his or her own and could benefit from the support of an experienced attorney.

Even child support can be modified and only a knowledgeable attorney will be able to argue the case in a parent's favor in case there is a drastic change in circumstances. This can be triggered by sudden fluctuations in income, or changes in the child's such as an illness, when additional medical support may be required.

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